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Our Story

In the 1800s, Manayunk was an exciting mill town populated by skilled workers, weavers, craftspeople, and artisans. Our building located along the heart of Main Street was built in 1822 by Ann Dawson as a cotton mill, to take advantage of the key location at the mouth of the Manayunk Canal. Surely she was one of the few, if not only, women in her time to open a factory. Nearly a hundred years later, the building was purchased by the Krook family in 1912, and transformed into a woolen mill. By this time, Manayunk had established itself on the world scene for the manufacture of truly superb textiles.

By the end of the 20th century, textile manufacturing had almost completely moved overseas. The Krook family operated their woolen mill until 1992, when they finally closed their doors and sold the building to local entrepreneur Harry Renner IV. He brought the lagging facility back to life as a space for retail business, and established Manayunk Brewing Company and Restaurant in the process.

Mr. Renner made the decision to keep the original industrial scale for weighing wool, which you can still see inside our front foyer. Our first batch of Manayunk Brewing Company beer was tapped on October 17, 1996. Since then, we have brewed more than 600 different varieties of beers, and have been selling these sought-after styles all around Philadelphia and New Jersey. Our brewers continue to explore new takes on classic styles, especially when it comes to sour ales and India Pale Ales. You will no doubt see our delivery truck bringing goods to happy customers throughout the Philadelphia region!

Mr. Renner’s daughter took over the building in 2004, and runs the restaurant and brewery along with her business partner Mike Rose. Since then, they have expanded the restaurant by installing a stone pizza oven and sushi bar, as well as a chic banquet space for weddings and meetings. We’ve also begun to offer kayak tours along the adjacent Schuylkill River during the warm months.

When it Rains, it Pours

Our location on the river affords us one of the largest outdoor decks in Philadelphia, which makes for wonderfully relaxing drinks and meals when the sun is shining. However, that great outdoor deck is not without its struggles. Our restaurant and brewery has survived a handful of devastating floods, where the river has risen more than 30 feet above normal level. Over twenty years, we have learned that it takes resilient and determined people to operate a business along such a powerful river, and we like to think that same grit and dedication is what makes our beer so delicious.

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NOW on DRAFT! In some ways considered to be a hybrid, our Kölsch is brewed with German pils malt and noble hops, th… https://t.co/SinmnXgZUG

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Dec 20th, come down to Manayunk Brewing Company and enjoy Morgan, Matt & Liz from Frisky. See a high energy party b… https://t.co/w8JUMR5wJR